Borough of Wigan was formed replacing the Municipal Borough of Wigan and incorporating all the lands of Wigan and from 1904 Pemberton parishes which had formerly been outside the towns municipal boundaries. In 1974 the County Borough of Wigan was dissolved and the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan was formed within the county of Greater Manchester. Swinley is bounded to the west by the tracks of the West Coast Main Line, to the south by Wigan Town Centre. To the east the course of the river Douglas in leafy Douglas Valley (which at the time featured industrial ironworks) and Haigh Country Park separate it from the suburb of Whelley. To the North West the land between Spencer Road and the west of Wigan Lane (including Whitley Crescent and Trinity United Reformed Church) forms the small similarly affluent suburb of Whitley centered on Whitley Reservoir. The 1894 OS Map lists Whitley Reservoirs origin as a gravel pit surrounded by country lanes and the suburb developed at the same time as Swinley between the late Victorian and First World War in the arts and crafts style to a preplanned grid. Meanwhile, Swinley continues northwards on the west side of Wigan Lane until it reaches Standish at the Boars Head Resorvoir. The population of Swinley is around 11,000 people and the area is mainly residential, alongside offices and a main high street on Wigan Lane. The area also contains the large Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, Victorian Mesnes Park, Cricket, Tennis and Bowls clubs and a Tesco Extra supermarket built on the former site of Central Park the Wigan Warriors previous stadium. References Geography of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan